The Flyers snapped a two-game losing streak Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of one of their best players.
Just fifteen seconds into the game, winger Simon Gagne was blindsided on a hit by Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa.
Gagne, coming off an impressive recovery from a series of concussions suffered last season, appeared to injure his right shoulder and did not return.
Immediately after the hit, Gagne went down and Flyers' captain Mike Richards went after Bieksa.
"He hit Gaggy. I kind of saw it out of the corner of my eye. I felt it was kind of a cheap hit, a late hit and from behind," Richards said. "So I felt I had to do something about it. I thought it was a hit that should have been a penalty and there wasn't a call."
It's that kind of action that can win a team over for a captain.
Gagne went into the game with 18 goals and 22 assists. He led the Flyers with a plus-18 rating, eighth in the NHL.
Instead of letting the loss of Gagne sink their third road game in a row, the injury seemed to have rejuvinated the previously sluggish Flyers. About three minutes after the hit on Gagne, Jeff Carter scored his league leading 27-th goal on a backhander after a pass from Matt Carle.
After giving up a power-play goal to Daniel Sedin late in the first period, the Flyers quickly regrouped, as Scott Hartnell put his team up 2-1 to go into the first intermission off a nice feed by Carter that he put just past the right post.
The Flyers and Vanucks would trade goals later in the game, preserving the one goal lead and the Flyers continued dominance over the Vancouver team on their home ice. The Flyers have not lost in Vancouver since Jan. 17, 1989, going 10-0-4 during that span.
The Flyers take the ice again Friday in Anaheim. The puck drops at 10:00 PM.
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